13 January 2018

If you eat food, here in America or around the world, you should watch the new Netflix documentary series Rotten, which takes a hard, cold look at the food industry. The films examine more than your usual topics of pesticides, disease, and cleanliness--they also explore fraud, theft, global contamination, scams, the rise of allergies, and more.

The six documentaries in season 1 cover honey, allergies (peanuts), garlic, poultry, dairy, and fish. The films aren't for the faint of heart. You may find hard to trust any food source besides a local farmer . . . if you can find one. I watched the first two episodes of Rotten and can already recommend that you watch too.

Episode 1, "Lawyers, Guns & Honey," starts out explaining how bees make honey and then turns to the business of honey production and packaging. The primary focus of the documentary is on one of the largest food frauds in U.S. history, which involved tampered honey from China, which entered the country via a global network of shippers and sellers, which was meant to hide the honey's origins. I had no idea there was such a thing as bee hive theft (there is) and wasn't aware of the effect almond farms have had on beekeeping and on bee health. The film also mentions colony collapse and highlights the problems faced by family-run honey producers and packagers.

The second episode, "The Peanut Problem," examines the rise of food allergies in the last two decades. Because a peanut allergy is the most common food allergy, the documentary is focused on it. You may think this is a U.S. problem, but allergies are on the rise worldwide. The impact is felt at home and especially at restaurants. Although many restaurants do their utmost to protect their customers, some either don't care or don't understand the risks. No one really knows what has triggered the rise in allergies: is it antibiotics, our changing gut flora, the way we grow food, or something else? The good news is that researchers believe there will be a cure for food allergies in the near future.

Through the films we meet farmers, restaurant owners, scientists, beekeepers, federal investigators, and other individuals who have something to contribute to the topic at hand. The issues are examined from a variety of angles, such as health, the environment, economics, and the effect on consumers. The cinematography may not be Hollywood glamorous--the filmmakers get down to business--but the documentaries are nicely edited and interesting to watch. The point of Rotten is to offer information, though there is an underlying bias against mega-agribusiness.

I plan to watch the other documentaries (each is about an hour long and the series is a Netflix original), even if it increases my already high concern about our food supply. Not every moment is full of startling facts, but I'd be surprised if you watched Rotten and didn't learn something. Here's the series trailer:

_______

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

NOTE:Mr. Linky sometimes is mean and will give you an error message. He's usually wrong and your link went through just fine the first time. Grrrr._______

Beth ,It is amazing that any are healthy with the problems with our food industry. We truly have become victims and I think that is why so many people are becoming homesteaders or joining an organic CSA in hopes of getting a little better quality of food. It's scary. Thanks for the review and awareness of the Netflix series.

A woman at work was telling me about this and said she would loan me her DVDs once she was done. I agree with some of the other commenters, it’s hard to watch , you get paranoid about eating anything but it’s so educational.

It makes a good case for buying from local farms where the animals are raised humanely, or local bee keepers if you can. I’m in a rural area so that’s possible but I know it isn’t possible for folks in large cities.

The last show I watched like this is What the Health. My 33-year-old daughter told me about it so we watched it this summer with my granddaughter (who is 15). They both became vegans as soon as the show was over. I considered it, but love my eggs and cheese too much. :) I don't dare tell my daughter about this documentary series or she'll wind up not eating anything! I'm joking, but it is getting to the point where nothing seems safe unless, as you said, you only consume what is truly local and organic. I'm glad to hear that there is hope for those with serious allergies. It really has become such a life-threatening problem for so many! I think it's time for me to re-read Michael Pollan's books (Food Rules and In Defense of Food). Great, thought-provoking post, Candace. Thanks!

Thanks for stopping by. I read all comments and may respond here, via e-mail, or on your blog. I visit everyone who comments, but not necessarily right away.

I cannot turn off word verification, but if you are logged into Blogger you can ignore the captcha. I have set posts older than 14 days to be on moderation. I can no longer accept anonymous comments. I'm so sorry if this means you have to register or if you have trouble commenting.

Advertise

Ask me about advertising.

About Me

I'm a freelance book editor, reviewer, and journalist blogging as Beth Fish. On these pages, you'll find book reviews, book features, and other bookish content. I like to spotlight my favorite imprints and I'm a long-time audiobook lover. (I was the Audio Publishers Association's 2016 Audiobook Blogger of the Year!) Each Saturday I host my popular Weekend Cooking feature. Don't forget to look for my weekly photograph. You can find me on social media as @BethFishReads. Publicists, publishers, authors: please see my review policy. NB: I did not work on any book mentioned on this site.

Freelance

Copyright Issues

All photos (including the banner; Brugge 2008) and text (unless otherwise noted) are my own work and are copyrighted under my legal initials. Please read "Copyright issues" in my Review Policy for more on the legal use of my material.Creative Commons Attribution